WSU 2015/2016

Christina Puntasecca Luiggi took up the mantle of Student Leader of this project in 2015 and collected stories weekly throughout the school year. Christina also facilitated writing workshops to help survivors write down their stories. April 13th, she and her team of volunteers shared those stories on the Quad of Wright State University.

April 13, 2016 included:

6 hours of reading

26 total stories were read

12 stories will be used in the quilt

3 survivors came that day to share their stories

11 Volunteers

60 Bookmark/Pledges explaining consent were passed out

My name is Christina Puntasecca Luiggi, and I’m a non-traditional student at Wright State University. Before I started college, I served in the USAF. It was during those years as a service member that I experienced multiple instances of rape and sexual assault. Survivors are historically, systemically silenced or shamed for breaking silence, and this is certainly true in military contexts. For years I buried my experiences deeply and never spoke of them, while I struggled with reconciling the military image of honor, integrity, and bravery with the abuse I experienced at the hands of fellow airmen. Over the past few years, I have been able to share my story with my partner and a few close friends. I have come to understand that sexual violence is never the survivor’s fault, and that we can become empowered through the telling of our experiences.

I volunteered with ISWR last year, but was not yet ready to share my story. Hearing the experiences of other students was more powerful, heartbreaking, and healing than I could have prepared myself for. For me, hearing was healing. The survivors who came forward made a deep impact on those who listened, and forced silencers to hear them. We would like to continue working in solidarity with survivors, and in resistance against erasure…

April 13, 2016, we will once again raise our voices in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence. We invite you to share your story in as little or as much detail as you would like. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your experience, you can join our team of volunteers and stand with other survivors in the way that works best for you.

Breaking the silence forced upon survivors is crucial to ending sexual violence.